Learning all things Dim Sum at Lu Lu Seafood and Dim Sum

There is nothing like love to force you outside your comfort zone. For me, the list of things "outside my comfort zone" includes big-city driving. It is like speaking Spanish — I just don't do either often enough to develop lasting confidence in my abilities. I have to psyche myself up to travel for work. Luckily, I've always had road warrior friends willing to provide the easiest routes, give me pep talks and sometimes even talk me through the scary parts when there isn't a long way around (thanks, Mike). The only other reason I have driven in a big city has been for my children, which is exactly why I found myself in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. My son moved to St. Louis, and I wanted to see him. It is that simple. I called and made plans to drive up for a visit one Sunday afternoon, and I was determined to do it alone. Well, just me and God. The fact that you are reading this is proof my trip was successful, though not completely uneventful.

I was excited and confident as I headed out late that Sunday morning knowing traffic would not be too bad and the forecast was clear. I considered the various things we could do once I arrived. I would finally conquer my fear. We would explore and see where the day took us. I was doing fantastic ... until I actually entered the City of St. Louis. Traffic picked up. Vehicles whizzed by. The voice of my GPS repeatedly jolted me to attention, interrupting my music and barking orders as I approached exits 10 to 15 miles away. By the time I reached my destination my nerves were frazzled, and I was convinced I had had enough excitement for the day.

Luckily, my son has no such qualms about driving and offered to take over the duties for the afternoon. Whew! I was relieved since it was lunch time, and we were both hungry. I had done my research and made a couple of suggestions. Lu Lu Seafood and Dim Sum sounded intriguing, and my son was easily on board to try something new.

We chatted and caught up as he drove, which means I did not have a chance to do any additional research about dim sum etiquette. Heck, I wasn't even sure what "dim sum" meant. What I did know was that dim sum had something to do with dumplings (which I love) and that was enough for me. We would have to risk embarrassing ourselves and wing it.

When we arrived, we were greeted and quickly seated. That is when the fun began. Before we had a chance to order drinks, a server pushing a cart loaded with round metal and bamboo steamer baskets arrived tableside. She did not speak English, but promptly began lifting lids to reveal the steaming hot items inside. Everything looked and smelled phenomenal, but I was not familiar with the delicacies, how to order, or the cost. Another server appeared, took our drink order, and gave us a paper to mark our selections, similar to the ordering sheet one might find at a sushi restaurant. When she returned with our drinks, she also brought us menus and encouraged us to point to the items we wanted to order.

The Lu Lu Fried Sesame Ball with Red Bean Paste was on the sweet side.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

Since this was our first time, we selected two types each to avoid overdoing it. I would compare this to an appetizer or tapas plate in that they are meant to be shared, however, indulging in the variety of options along with tea is meant to serve as your complete meal.

The various carts returned to deliver our selections. I took a quick peak at YouTube for suggestions on how to eat "dim sum" before digging in. I learned that when eating Shanghai juicy soup dumplings, one should carefully take a small bite to allow the soup contained within the dumpling to spill into their mouth, otherwise they might end up with a big mess on their shirt or lap. Many items are handled like typical finger foods while others are more chopstick appropriate. There are dumplings, rice noodle rolls, buns, meats and tarts with flavors ranging from sweet to savory.

We thoroughly enjoyed this new-to-us culinary experience and encourage you to step out of your comfort zone every now and then.

Lu Lu Seafood and Dim Sum is located at 8224 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO; (314) 997-3108; or online at www.luluseafooddimsum.com.